


Meet the Wonderland Gang!

by SioDymph



Series: The Wonderland Gang [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Extended Universe, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Drug Dealing, F/F, One Shot Collection, Original Character(s), Rating May Change, Retcon, Retcon Timeline, Warnings May Change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:41:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,381
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22304344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SioDymph/pseuds/SioDymph
Summary: Each member of Gotham's infamous Wonderland Gang has their own story to tell...
Relationships: Jaina Hudson/Harriet Pratt, Jaina Hudson/March Harriet, White Rabbit/March Harriet
Series: The Wonderland Gang [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755172
Kudos: 1





	1. Meet the White Rabbit

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> lol this all started because I really disliked Jaina's characterization and wanted to give her a new backstory. But then I realized a lot of other rouges and villains had been done dirty, I also got the idea for two OC's, and it grew from there. And now I'm thinking about doing a whole story with these guys! So I thought it would be a good idea to write this series of introductions to everyone on my team.
> 
> I hope you enjoy my adaptations of Batman's Wonderland baddies!

Ever since she was born, Jaina Hudson felt like she was torn between worlds.

With her father being an American diplomat and her mother being a Bollywood star she quite literally would be bounced between worlds. To and from the bleak yet wild city of Gotham with her Father, Grandmother and Grandpa, and the equally chaotic but far more vibrant city of Mumbai with her Mom, Nani and Nana. A large portion of her childhood was spent in airports, train stations and bus stops. It seemed like she and her family would always be stuck hurrying and waiting. The trains waited for no one. You must always be on time. You could never be late.

Perhaps that was where her obsession with time first began.

Either way, that’s how things were in her childhood. It wasn’t until she got a little older that she was even made to question the normalcy of her family.

When she was sent to a private school in Gotham, she was teased relentlessly. For her name. For her accent. Even for the food she would get at lunch; it kept going on until she begged her parents to let her buy food from the cafeteria. But even after doing that, the other kids always remembered and would tease her, asking where her “weirdo food” was.

It was no easier in Mumbai, when she went there for summer school she was picked on once again for her accent, she was also mocked for her poor grades in school, her poor penmanship, and the fact she struggled to write in Marathi, Hindi and English like the other students. She was considered the dumbest person in her entire summer program.

Her only real escape was in dance. She loved being able to move, loved the feeling of energy flowing through her, telling stories without making a sound. In Mumbai she learned Bollywood at a prestigious school. And in Gotham, Jaina’s grandparents had insisted she train in classical ballet as well, so she developed both dancing techniques from a young age.

But it seemed like no matter where she was she never fit in quite right. She was an odd puzzle piece that couldn’t match either picture.

As a lonely child what she wanted more than anything was to find her place in a picture. To find herself within any frame. However as she got older, in her adolescence, she realized she was never meant to live by other’s people’s standards. She wasn’t meant to be in a stagnant picture, always the same.

As a teenager that’s when her powers really kicked in.

Jaina had always felt somewhat-disconnected from her world. But it quickly became a literal factor as well. Something was awoken within her. And after it woke, her relationship with reality and time were never quite the same.

It began as odd dreams.

She started dreaming about tunnels and holes. Sometimes they were literally that: holes dug into the ground or in walls. Other times they seemed more cartoonishly flat. But no matter how the holes appeared the rules of the dreams were the same. If she went down the rabbit hole she could go back, go forwards, or go somewhere entirely new.

For a while her dreams were simply that. Just odd dreams that left her feeling lost and disoriented as she woke up. And over time the holes appeared less and less recognizable, and more and more like ripples in reality. A curtain that she could pull back. And it continued like that for a while…

Until one day she saw a rabbit hole while she was awake.

Blaming it on a lack of sleep, she assumed it was just a sign she’d been pushing herself too hard in school.

But then it happened again. And again.

Finally, her curiosity got the better of her and she tried passing through a real rabbit hole, the way she’d do sometimes in her dreams…

Only to find herself suddenly transported back to her bedroom, two hours in the past.

And all at once it dawned on her what was actually going on.

It was time.

Jaina wasn’t following time in the normal pattern. She could jump ahead, trail behind, she couldn’t make major alterations or stretch too far into the future or past but she could still make small jumps if she wished. While most people walked on time’s path in a single line, Jaina could hop around. It was like a secret dance that only she could do. Dancing off to wherever she wished. All she had to do was follow the holes she subconsciously made.

And after she discovered her little rabbit holes, Jaina Hudson was never quite the same.

She found ways to use her metahuman powers to her advantage. With some practice she began to gain some control over where the rabbit holes went. And if she planed things out correctly she could appear two places at once. A tool that became remarkably helpful when she became a person of many secrets.

As a teen she was also introduced to ballroom culture and almost immediately fell in love. It didn’t matter who you were, or where you came from. All that mattered was who you said you were, who you wanted to be.

And Jaina discovered she wanted to be a king. When she’d perform she’d dance in a manner that was never completely either of the disciplines she was raised in, but something that was in-between, and entirely her own.

But she could never stay for too long. After all, time’s arrow marched forwards, no matter how much Jaina could dance around it. After making it a bad habit to leave each show in a hurry she earned two nicknames. “Cinder-fella” and “White Rabbit”.

Funny enough, it was none other than Harriet Pratt who gave her the second nickname.

They met in the ballroom scene, and it was there that a deeper friendship and eventual relationship began to grow.

For years they’d relied on each other through thick and thin, trial and tribulations. They shared each other’s deepest secrets. Harriet was one of the few people who even knew about Jaina’s metahuman abilities. And Jaina’s was one of the few people who knew about Harriet’s crummy family-life and secret skills as a conman. So no matter what they always had each other’s back. Even if that meant wandering into grey-areas of morality… and even if that mean wandering fully to the wrong side of the law.

So when, one day, Harriet came up to Jaina with the insane idea of starting their own gang how could she refuse?


	2. Meet March Harriet

Harriet Pratt was a woman of many talents, or so she said.

Her greatest talent was lying.

Harriet's home-life growing up had been real crappy. The only good thing about it, in her opinion, was the fact that it taught her how to be a fantastic liar. She learned how to improvise, how to work on her toes, and what to say to make sure she got what she needed.

When she was younger she always dreamed of running away to America and making something of herself. That she’d become powerful and famous and never have to see her family again. And that one day when she was rich enough she’d stop lying and stealing and be able to live comfortably.

Unfortunately when she finally worked up the courage to run away she chose Gotham. She’d heard about the cheap living there and thought it’d be the perfect place to go to school and start fresh. It was a mistake a lot of young people made. The problem was it was cheap to move to Gotham, but moving back out was the real issue. Most jobs outside of Wayne Industries paid peanuts, and there were only so many job openings in W. I. anyway so most people ended up stuck in a dead-end job. Having enough money to usually make rent and get some food, but never enough to start saving money and get out.

So Harriet spent most of her college years, and the years that followed, trapped in a one-bedroom apartment the size of a cubical. Working odd jobs to make ends meet. But never having enough to achieve those dreams of fame and fortune. The original dreams that brought her to America in the first place.

The further and further her dreams seemed, the more desperate Harriet became.

It dawned on her that the skills she used to appease her parents and keep out of trouble could also be used to help her now in Gotham.

She started off small. Making up little white lies at work. At the diner, during the early morning shift a drunk guy snuck in the back and stole all the bagels for the day. At the bar, some money was missing from the cash register because an angry lady came to the restaurant demanding a full refund for her drinks having too much ice. At the office there was a mix-up in the mailroom and several private notes for the supervisor had been misplaced. People believed her though. It was sad how easy it could be.

After all, how could anyone expect sweet little Harriet to lie?

She believed she was a good liar because of two things. One: she was what she considered “pretty-enough”. As a girl her family had said she was a homely-looking girl. Not ugly, but certainly not as beautiful as the other girls. But it was nothing “a little makeup wouldn’t fix”, they’d claim she was “blank enough for a good canvas”. They’d been jerks but they were also right. With a little highlights and make-up Harriet could make herself as pretty as she needed. Whether that meant having a sweeter smile so she’d get some extra tips or pretty enough to seem trustworthy.

And two: she paid attention. At every job she worked at, Harriet made sure to always know what was going on. She’d keep tabs on who was dating who, who was dealing with family problems, who was dealing with money problems. Because Harriet knew knowledge was power but it was also a reliable tool in making her lies feel real. She found the best lies always had some truth to them. So of course some bagels went missing, Clarice was working the kitchens that night after two 8-hour shifts back to back. He was practically asleep standing up! And no wonder the mail was being misplaced, Maria use to be their best delivery girl and she’d just broken up with the manager and quit.

Using both skills she was able to control how people not only saw her, but also how they saw the narratives she gave them.

But a little extra cash and stale bagels weren’t enough to keep Harriet afloat. To really thrive in Gotham she knew she’d have to dig a little deeper. If she wanted anyone else to take her seriously than she was gonna have to get more serious herself.

That meant taking on bigger targets. Raising the stakes on her cons. She began spying on her bosses and their bosses, looking for any information she could potentially use.

Between the cruddy jobs and the risky behavior, Harriet had almost nothing for herself.

Her only real saving grace was drag. Growing up she’d heard about drag and ballroom culture, but she never got the chance to participate in it until she reached the states. And Gotham had a notorious ballroom scene.

On the weekends when she wasn’t grifting rich suckers out of their wallets in bars, she was at the bars she actually wanted to go to. Using make-up to alter her face in an entirely new way. To become “Harry”, or just “Hare”.

Harriet wasn’t one for performing but she loved to do drag still, and adored watching the shows everyone else would put on. There were plenty of comedians, singers, vougers, actors and poets. But her favorites were the dancers. One dancer in particular, a shy little king who always seemed to be off in a hurry. Harriet loved watching them dance. They seemed to flow across the stage and down into the audience. They were a beautiful artist and Harriet couldn’t get enough of them. At first she’d teasingly call the king “White Rabbit” cause it seemed like they were always checking their watch and scampering off before it got too late. And eventually the two got to talking and Harriet learned much more about her little white rabbit…

Her real name was Jaina Hudson. She was trained in ballet and Bollywood, a curious combo. And before she knew it, Harriet had begun considering Jaina a friend. They were quiet the pair, kindred spirits stuck in a town, in a world really where they never fit in.

As their friendship grew they became even more personal with one another. Harriet felt comfortable enough around Jaina to admit her habits of lying. And Jaina confided something to Harriet that she didn’t expect at all… After that they grew even closer. Until then Harriet had always assumed she was just curious in Jaina, she was an interesting person after all. But she wasn’t just interested, or fascinated by Jaina. Harriet truly loved someone. And much to her surprise, for possibly the first moment in her life someone actually loved her back as well.

The thought was terrifying, but they were working it out together.

What they had was sweet, but it wasn’t satisfying Harriet’s dream of fame and fortune. Jaina came from money but Harriet wanted to make some on her own.

And Harriet's issues weren't really about the money, she realized. She wanted to make a name for herself. She wanted to be the type of person people treated with respect. Like Bruce Wayne… Or Carmine Falcone. Or Fish Mooney. Or Oswald Cobblepot…

And that meant she’d have to start earning some serious respect here in Gotham.

She kept her ears out for others like her and Jaina. People with unique skills and abilities. People who could do amazing things if they were just given the chance. People who were fed up with being belittled and scorned. People interested in gaining a foot in Gotham’s underbelly. She began to form a team.

And together with her crew, she vowed she was going to achieve her dreams.

One way or another.


	3. Meet the Mad Hatter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my introduction for Jervis! I had fun creating my own adaptation of him, he can be such a fun character!

Jervis Tetch had always been a bit of a daydreamer.

When he was a child his family and peers just assumed he had a wide imagination. Always reading silly poems and fantasy stories, his favorites were the works of Lewis Carroll. He’d absolutely loved playing make-believe as well. And he could spend hours just thinking up stories without making a peep.

As a grown man, his therapist told him those were traits of escapism.

Either way, Jervis had always felt more comfortable within his own head than around other people. Call it what you will: introversion, social anxiety, self-imposed isolation, for Jervis that’s just how he worked.

Though he supposed it could also be self-defense mechanism he’d developed. It was easier to be by himself than face potential rejection for being “too obsessive and weird”, as some of his meaner peers always claimed. While he disagreed with his therapist on many things, he could see how as a child he’d used his mind as a shell he could hide in.

But he couldn’t understand why that was such a problem.

The mind is a gift and he cherished his. So what if he liked to use his imagination? It certainly made ordinary day-to-day life more interesting. Why wander through the dull, grey streets of London or Gotham when you could waltz through Wonderland?

Why was he so hard to understand?

As a boy he’d always wished he could make people see all the amazing, fun things he’d see. While he was hosting tea parties, testifying before the Red court or fighting jabberwocks, the only thing others saw was him playing with dolls, sticks and drawings. If only they could see what he saw, then they’d realize how much fun they were missing out on!

His fascination with the mind was a deep set one, but it was also the original foundation for his research and career. As an undergrad student, he'd first dedicated himself to the study of the mind. Specifically how people process auditory, visual, sensory input. It was amazing what he’d learned. Especially when it came to perception.

For example, in one test he conducted for a class, test subjects were placed in a dark room with minimal auditory input. When he lied to certain patients and told them there were a few flies buzzing through the room, they’d begin swatting around. Some subjects claimed they heard the flies buzzing in their ears. Others claimed to feel a fly land on their face. Even stranger, even after being brought back into a well-lit room some patients claimed to see the fly buzzing around them.

The powers of perception, persuasion and illusion were incredible. And Jervis hoped to study them more.

But funding for such tests was hard to come by. Many considered Jervis’s passions “frivolous”, who cared about fake-flies and gullibility when there were bigger psychological problems in the world? And much to his dismay his family had agreed. They weren’t going to fund his education for him to waste his time learning tricks.

So Jervis had to put his fascination for perception to the side, and pursued a career in computer science instead.

Though he never truly lost his love for psychology and perception. Much like Wonderland, Jervis had a way of locking up important thoughts and dreams deep in his mind. Where no one could take them away or call them silly.

Computer science however, turned out to be yet another rabbit hole of ideas for him to dive into. It was amazing how just a bunch of zeroes and ones could be translated into strings of code. And how if those codes were hooked up to an LED screen they could create such amazing programs. The opportunities of technology were limitless. Especially when the concept of virtual reality became more and more feasible.

Jervis found himself with a masters in computer science along with a job in Gotham working in Wayne Industries as a specialist.

He thought that’d make him happy. He’d made his family proud. He found a job he enjoyed. A job where people respected him and didn’t think he was strange. Those were all things he was supposed to want? But having all those things didn’t make him a shred happier.

That’s why he started talking to a therapist. And while that helped him understand why he was upset, it didn’t do anything to really change his feelings. Besides his therapist, the nice British waitress at the diner and a few coworkers he didn’t really talk to anyone else. Like always, he’d prefer the company of his own imagination.

If only he could find a way to combine his reality with everything locked away in his mind…

Everything changed though when Alice began working with him.

W.I. hired more computer specialists in the hopes of expanding the company’s technology branch, and Alice was one of the few members who joined the team. She was a brilliant woman, an expert in her field, rightly so. She was never afraid to ask questions, to question why things were the way they were. And she was never afraid to take unconventional, unheard paths to finding the solutions to problems. She was a creative, intuitive genius and Jervis loved working with her. On top of it all _Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland_ had been her favorite story as a child as well!

Jervis thought they might be kindred spirits. Two creative minds with kingdoms trapped within their minds, stuck in a dull world where no one appreciated them. Jervis considered Alice his friend, his best friend even. He even began to wonder if what he felt for Alice was love.

Alas, it was never meant to be. Alice already had a boyfriend, who soon became her fiancé. But Jervis still considered her a good friend. Even after she began to see him as strange, just like everyone else eventually did. But that didn’t matter, Jervis still saw her as a friend. One of the few.

She was also a source of inspiration for him. After all, it was brilliant, creative Alice who gave him the idea of combining his fascination with computers and human-perception together. It was something the woman later admitted to regret, but still Jervis could never forget her important role in his life.

And so began Jervis’s fascination, his obsession really, with finding new ways to show Gotham his Wonderland.

It wasn’t much longer after that that Harriet found him.

She was a waiter at the dinner Jervis often frequented. Jervis enjoyed talking to her whenever he felt a little homesick. But one night, he was talking to Harriet about it all. Alice’s friendship, his old aspirations of being a psychologist, the new dream of combining his daydreams with the waking world.

Jervis quickly found himself gaining another friend. One who claimed they could use a genius like him. And one who promised they would change Gotham forever...


	4. Meet the Carpenter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my take on Jenna Duffy!
> 
> And yes, I decided Jenna should be a literal carpenter! lol where's then fun in practically every Gotham lady being a pickpocket and conman?

Jenna Duffy was a tough girl.

A hard worker who made her own way in the world.

She always prided herself on being independent. What she did, the things she made, that was all her.

It started with the smaller things growing up as a girl. Insisting on helping with the fieldwork and the animals. Learning how to repair trucks and all the farming machinery. Her Dad thought it was cute, so he humored her. But her Ma knew differently. But with time they both realized their daughter wasn’t trying to be special or going through a phase. That’s just who Jenna Duffy was meant to be.

As she got older she really got into wood work and metallurgy. She’d fix things around the house. Rebuild pantries and barstools. Make her own horseshoes and frames. Eventually she got so good at it she decided to skip the family farm and make carpentry her career.

She ended up getting a warehouse in downtown Gotham. It was on the shittier side of town. But it was also a place where she could put together her handcrafted furniture and spare machinery parts. And it was close to her customers so she wouldn’t have to worry about always traveling from the countryside to the city and back. Her timing had been perfect. The whole rustic-phase had hit the city and Gothamites couldn’t get enough of her work. Most days she had a stack of commissions the size of a text book. And the more people loved her work, the more people they told, the more customers she had.

Her life had been perfect. She set her own schedule. Made her own rules. Made her own profit.

She could have been happy like that…

But then Moe Blum had to waltz into her life.

He was a big, strong guy. The type her family would have adored. He wasn’t much of a sweet-talker, but he could be sweet when he wanted to. He had this charm to him. And he took a shine to Jenna immediately. It started when he came by with a couple commissions for his boss. Apparently the man wanted a desk with a wide work-space for sketching blueprints. Plus a lot of drawers and secret compartments. Jenna had made hundreds of similar desks before and thought nothing of it. People love having little hiding places to put their diaries and nick-nacks. But after she finished the desk Moe came back, apparently his boss wanted a new chair. And a new side-table. A new breadbox. A new toothpick. Eventually Moe ran out of excuses and finally admitted he kept coming back cause he wanted to see her.

He loved watching Jenna work, he’d say things like, “You have a cold fire in you eyes when you really focus.”, and when Jenna would ask him what the hell a cold fire was he’d just shrug and grin. They’d talk for hours about nothing.

He’d bring by little treats and gifts too. A donut from the bakery near his apartment. Some new pencils when he saw she was running out. A bracelet he saw in a boutique that reminded him of her. From appearances he didn’t seem like it but Moe could be so kind and considerate.

Jenna found she really enjoyed the man’s company. And he always seemed to enjoy being around Jenna too. He really seemed to like her. And when they started dating Jenna thought things couldn’t be any more perfect. She’d had been naive enough to think Moe respected her and her work. That he liked her for who she was. He loved how she was such a hard worker. A strong girl who could always keep up with her strong man.

One day, Moe said he and his boss had a proposition for Jenna. A deal that would make her wealthy beyond reason. Moe’s boss, would manage transportation at Jenna’s shop and they’d get a modest cut of the final profits. No more lugging heavy bedframes onto her truck. No more denying customers who lived too far away from Gotham. All she’d have to do is make the furniture and they’d take care of the rest.

And having no reason to doubt her sweet boyfriend she agreed to the deal like a total idiot.

After she agreed she found out Moe’s boss was none other than Roman Sionis. The Black Mask.

Also turns out Moe had a street name. On the rougher-side of Gotham her sweet, charming Moe was known as “The Walrus”; one of Black Mask’s most violent and most feared enforcers…

And it just kept getting worse from there. It wasn’t until she looked at little closer at the fine print of her contract that Jenna realized how screwed she was…

Black Mask wasn’t just managing her transport. He was managing all her incoming commissions. And everything she was making, every single piece she was commissioned, was redesigned to have secret compartments built into them. And Jenna doubted Black Mask wanted to hide his diary in these type of compartments. Without even realizing it, Jenna had sold over her entire company to a gang leader. The company she build with her own two hands was no longer hers and she was just a cog in the Black Mask’s machine.

But true to his word, Moe made sure Jenna was making money. She was making more than she ever did off commissions or contracts. And Moe didn’t treat her any differently after the deal was made. He still loved her and her craftsmanship. But at the same time it was hard to appreciate the incoming money and affection when her hands were splintered and bloody, meanwhile Moe and Roman had manicured nails and gold rings.

She had always prided herself on being a tough girl and a hard worker who did things her own way.

She’d never stopped to wonder if others might try and take advantage of her passion and dedication.

She’d been so sure of herself that she let herself get swept up in Moe’s compliments and companionship. He made it seem like they were a team. But really, the Walrus was just looking for a new scheme for his boss and himself. And Jenna had been that scheme.

Moe had promised working for Black Mask would make her life better but in truth, it took away the thing Jenna valued the most.

But Jenna was never one to give up easily. She would rather die than roll over on her belly and let other people, other men walk all over her.

When she had enough money to leave she tore up her contract, gave Moe back all his stupid little gifts, told Black Mask he could keep her shitty warehouse and left.

Leaving placed a massive target on the back of her head but Jenna didn’t even care. She’d vowed to get back at them for tricking her.

Nobody steals from the Carpenter and gets away with it.

And lucky for her, she found the perfect team to help her fight back and earn some respect from the gangs of Gotham.


	5. Meet Tweedledum

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was fun trying to give the Tweed brothers their own characters, here's my take on Dumfree

Dumfree Tweed thought he must be the evil twin.

He’d always been a quiet, sullen kid. He had a bad habit of getting on people’s bad sides. And he was always getting him and his brother into mischief. 

Their long illustrious career in crime all began when they were little. Dumfree was good at math and science but he was horrible with reading and history, meanwhile Deever was good a reading and history but couldn’t solve an algebra problem to save his life. So, being identical twins it was only logical to them to switch places. They went through grade school with flying colors, at least until some of their teachers caught on in high school.

They were always looking for loopholes. If there was an easier way to do things, they’d do it.

But no matter what happened, whether the schemes they cooked ended with success or ended in flames, they did it together.

And if one of them went down, they both went down. It was an unspoken rule the twins had held up since they were children. Whether they were stuck in time-out, detention, pool-jail, mall-jail, juvie, normal-jail or even prison, if one of them was doing time then they were both doing time.

You don’t split a matched set.

But it wasn’t always failure and gloom between them. They actually manage to get a lot of things right.

For one, Dumfree’s love of numbers and math never really went away. Many people took one look at him and assumed he was just a meat-head. Growing up, most kids called him crap like “DUM-DUM” or “Tweedle-DUMB”, only to for him to mop the floor with them when it came time for calculus finals. And it seemed like adults were still giving him the same judgement. But that was their own fault. And what his enemies didn’t know about him, Dumfree could always use to ruin them.

And for another, his brother Deever always had his back.

They made a great team. Dumfree worked with the numbers, handled the stats and schematics, meanwhile Deever took care of the personal-end of things, being a real people person, keeping clients happy. Together they acted like the perfect unit.

It also didn’t hurt that they were both rather hefty men. No pail of water was going to knock either of them down. And Dumfree took pride in always being able to hold his own in a fight. Odds were unless they were facing off with someone the size of Bane, the Tweed brothers claimed they could take on any and every one. One of Dumfree’s proudest moments was taking on that Bat himself.

A few years back they’d been working as hired help for the Penguin. Eventually when Batman caught whiff of them he came crashing down. While all the other thugs ran like the wind, Dumfree saw an opportunity. He didn’t even care about killing the Bat or unmasking him or whatever, he just wanted to fight him. And he was proud to hold the title with his brother as one of the few men who were able to take on the Bat and bring him down to his knees.

Now, many people had accused them of lying about that, but they were all full of it and usually ended up with a black eye or a chipped tooth. Nobody called the Tweed brothers liars. At least not when they were actually telling the truth.

Over the years he and his brother had made their fair share of enemies, there were still certain parts of Gotham they’d couldn’t show their faces. Plus bans from certain bars that were supposed to last for-life. And while some gigs they got were good nothing ever lasts forever.

In a city like Gotham you had to learn to cut your losses before they cut you.

After the first couple disasters Dumfree learned that rule hard and fast.

Mobs tried to say you were part of a family, gangs tried to say you were friends, but you were never _brothers_. At the end of the day you were just hired help. At least most of the Arkham nut-cases that would hire muscle knew that. They never sugarcoated what they wanted or what they thought of you, and at least that was some honesty Dumfree could appreciate. But even then one had to be careful who hired you, there’s no point in taking on a job just to end up in a body bag by the end of the hour.

But no matter what mobs and gangs hired them and treated them like dirt, no matter what Arkham loon hired them to be in hair-brain schemes, no matter how many plans fell apart and usually left them high and dry, Dumfree would always have his brother.

And there was nothing that could ever change that.

When Harriet first approached them, Dumfree assumed she was just another sweet-talking con trying to get some muscle. At best she just needed them to look tough and scary. And at worst she was looking for a bullet shield. Either way, Dumfree didn’t go in with any plans of getting all buddy-buddy with the new boss.

But it turned out, she wasn’t really looking for muscle. Well, she was looking for muscle, but she was looking for some muscle with brains too.

She was a real people-person, a lot like Deever actually, but when it came to setting up plans and getting all the facts straight she was falling short. She was looking for people to help crunch the numbers and keep the schemes on schedule.

And Harriet was a smart girl, she’d been paying attention and took notes. She was one of few who noticed how their bosses usually got caught by the bat, and all the other hires getting carted off to Blackgate, and yet the Tweed brother always managed to stay ahead of the law. All thanks to the skills they didn’t get hired for.

At least not until now.

She wasn’t just looking for some tough guys to beat up a street urchin or two, she was looking for a number man, a risk analysist to keep them on track while avoiding the risky choices that would immediately land them on the Bat’s radar.

The deal sounded great enough. Dumfree had been hired for loads of reasons, but never for his mind.

Still though, Dumfree hadn’t made it this far by being best friends with everyone he met. While he and his brother agreed to join Harriet’s team, Dumfree kept all his suspicious to himself.

Still though, he had to admit this whole Wonderland-thing with the little drag king was gonna be real interesting…


	6. Meet Tweedledee

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the other brother!

Deever Tweed always believed he was the evil twin.

He was always so outgoing and obnoxious. He'd lie and fib to get whatever he wanted. And he was always getting him and his brother into mischief.

Their long illustrious career in crime all began when they were little. Deever loved studying writing and history but he hated doing anything math-based or scientific, meanwhile Dumfry was a pro with numbers and facts but he could comprehend Shakespeare if there was a gun to his head. So, being identical twins it was only logical to them to switch places. They went through grade school with flying colors, at least until some of their teachers caught on in high school.

But through thick and thin they were always together. There was a universal rule of pairs. Hot had Cold. Day had Night. And Deever had Dumfree. They were always made to be a pair.

After graduating high school they both got the boot and were kicked out of their foster home. From that moment on Dumfree truly was the only family Deever had. In truth it had always been that way, but it wasn’t until they were on their own that the fact sank in.

And if you asked him, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

No one in Gotham, no one in the entire universe would have his back the way his twin brother did.

And they were like the perfect unit. While Dumfree crunched the numbers, like he always did, Deever took care of everything else. Dumfree was great but he didn’t have that personal-touch the way Deever did. When it came to making deals and answering questions, Deever took the reins. Made sure to appease their future bosses, make him and his brother seem like the perfect duo for any job. And when something didn’t go according to plan he was the one who gave the bad news and appeased their higher-ups.

If Deever was honest with himself, sometimes he could be downright manipulative to the people who hired him. He’d consider it messed up if he wasn’t in Gotham, and if he wasn’t working for people even more wrong in the head than him. At the end of the day money was still money, no matter how you got it. And he’d always do whatever it took to make sure his brother was taken care of, even if he couldn’t ensure they were doing things fairly.

He’d do anything for his brother.

He’d even stand up to the goddamn Batman.

Funny story actually, one time his knuckle-head of a brother actually tried to take on the Bat. They’d been working for the Penguin when shit hit the fan and Batman found out about their secret base. Now ordinarily, Deever’s brother was a cautious guy. He was tough but he never went out of his way to put himself in danger. He was usually smart like that. But that night, he must have drunken a tall glass of stupid-juice cause before Deever could stop him, Dumfree decided to run at Batman full speed and decked him.

Of course, Deever eventually had to step in and help his brother out, and eventually the two got Batman to fall to the ground. But never had Deever ever been so scared for his brother’s safety.

After that they’d gained the honored title of beating the stuffing out of the Bat, even if no one ever really believed them.

But honestly, Deever didn’t enjoy it that much due to how scary it’d been. Sure they won that fight but there’d been so much at stake. After they won all Deever could feel was relief. Batman had put bigger guys than Dumfree in the infirmary and odds were if Deever hadn’t been there his brother would have been another one.

So after that they both agreed, stick to the numbers, stick to the plans, and stick together. And no doing anything dumb like fighting the Batman for fun. If ya wanted to fight go join a fight club. And Deever had to do a better job checking people; make sure they took on the safer bets. Better to be broke than dead after all.

If Dumfree made sure they made it out alive, than Deever made it his job to keep them safe while going in.

He honestly had no idea what’d he’d do without his brother. Without Dumfree there to keep the details straight, without someone there to have his back, without his brother he would have been dead man by now. Without Dumfree, Deever would be nothing.

Whenever they got a new job offer Deever was always nervous. But he couldn’t show it. He always put on a cool façade and smirked but inside he was studying his future bosses and clients up and down. Getting a good read on who they were and what they wanted. And if he didn’t like what he saw he didn’t take the deal, no matter how much they offered.

Harriet Pratt had been no different.

She’d come to them looking for some teammates and Deever was sure this would be another one of those “we call ourselves a team but I’m your boss and I’ll drop your ass whenever I feel like it”-type of scenarios. But surprisingly, Harriet was actually interested in creating a team.

She’d been keeping an eye out for folks who broke the mold and apparently she liked what she saw in the Tweed Brothers. The real kicker was she wasn’t just looking for some meat-heads to break pinkies. She was looking for bigger assets than that. She needed folks who could crunch numbers on the fly like Dumfree. And she needed folks who had a way with words and could read people… like Deever.

Being someone well-read in dealers and deals, Deever wasn’t quite sure what Harriet was aiming for when she first approached them. But once they got to talking the answer became clear.

Harriet might have been a conman, but sometimes she gave herself away. Based on what Deever had seen he suspected Harriet was a woman with big ambitions but needed support to get a foot up in the Gotham Bad-Guy business. But she wasn’t the type to ditch her help, a trait that came few and far between.

So he and his brother accepted Harriet’s offer. For now Deever trusted Harriet, but that wasn’t say much. He never trusted anyone further than he could throw them.

But who knew? Maybe the Wonderland-gig would be fun…


	7. Meet Cheshire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's the last canon DC character in the line up! 
> 
> Usually Jade has nothing to do with any Gotham characters but personally I always wondered what it would be like for her to team up with them. So I went ahead and did just that! I also thought she and Catwoman would get along, both being loner cat-ladies who were use to going-it alone.

Jade Nguyen seemed to always be the girl on the run.

She’d been on the run all her life really. From her mother, the League of Shadows, the Secret Six, Talon… The Teen Titans…

It seemed fitting that she was born with the ability to disappear. Any time she got too scared as a little girl, she would vanish from sight. And as a teen she was trained how to control her abilities. In theory she was supposed to be the perfect assassin. She could kill enemies without even being seen.

Jade took on the name Cheshire.

The disappearing cat.

She could only imagine the Shadows’ surprise when she decided to disappear on them as well.

It had been terrifying to even try, but Jade felt she had to. Even with her abilities Jade wasn’t even close to the mastership and expertise shown by other League members. She feared soon she be considered slipping behind. Something that was unacceptable. She’d watched too many people be chewed and spit out by the Shadows. And she knew it was only a matter of time before they devoured her as well.

Jade thought being with the Titans would be better. They were good guys, they fought for justice. They saved people. And Jade wanted to use her skills for good too. They’d welcomed her with open arms, but it didn’t take long for Jade to feel misplaced. They were all so kind and sweet and good…

And Jade just wasn’t.

The Titans were sad to see her go. Will “Speedy” Harper, her then-boyfriend, tried to stop her. But Jade felt like she had to go. A person like her, a mercenary running from her past, had no place among heroes. She feared she would just drag them all down. 

So then she ran away to Gotham. If she wasn’t a hero than maybe she was an anti-hero. She tried teaming up with the Birds of Prey; a team of tough woman, both good and bad, who did what was right even if it wasn’t nice. They did good things even if they themselves weren’t good. On paper they sounded like the perfect team for Jade. But in reality they were anything but.

For starters, Jade hadn’t realized the leader of the Titans was best friends with the Birds of Prey. So when she came to Batgirl looking to join her team, she discovered Nightwing had already told her all about Jade. And thanks to her running off the way she did she now had a less than stellar reputation…

On top of that apparently, Nightwing also told Will where’d she ran off to. Thankfully he hadn’t tried to track her down on Gotham. But he’d tried to send her emails and literal mail. Jade had yet to work up the courage to read what he sent, let alone try and find some sort of response.

She was trying to start fresh as a Bird of Prey.

But her experience with that team was anything but welcoming and left her even more lost than ever before.

Catwoman, or Selina as Jade knew her now, seemed to like her enough. Somehow even with all her training and invisibility, Selina could always sense her coming. And whenever Jade felt left-out and sullen, Selina would take her out to go explore Gotham. Scaling buildings and racing across rooftops. Jade learned more about every shop, club and restaurant in Gotham in a few weeks than she had in the entire year she spent in Jump City with the Titans. And Selina never talked to her like she was just a footsoldier or an accident waiting to happen. She treated her like a real person.

Unfortunately Selina was an outlier.

With the rest of the Birds of Prey it seemed like nothing she did was good enough. And Batgirl was the most relentless of all. Her fighting technique was lacking, and so was her sense of self-discipline. She needed to brush up on her stealth. And she constantly needed to “check her attitude”, as Batgirl put it.

Thanks to Nightwing trying to “warn” his friends in Gotham about her, it seemed like the Birds of Prey were just waiting for Jade to disappoint them.

Well they didn’t have to wait long. Eventually Jade couldn’t stand it and left before they could kick her out. Saving herself at least some embarrassment.

Only Selina talked to her after she left. She use to claim, “Cats were solitary creatures, but they still looked out for one another”. So when Jade decided to go, Selina was the one to give her some advice.

The nice thing about being allies with Catwoman was she had friends all across the city, from the lowest thugs all the way up to the most powerful Rouges. Selina promised to look out for Jade and got her hooked up with an up-and-coming gang, claiming Jade would fit right in.

At first Jade didn’t know what to expect. But once she learned that new gang referred to themselves as “the Wonderland Gang” she was insulted. Was this Selina’s idea of a stupid joke? Just because she had chosen the alias Cheshire didn’t mean she was some Gotham-freak who obsessed over themes and gimmicks. Cheshire was her name but Jade was more than just a Lewis Carol reference. But Selina assured her that she’d chosen the Wonderland gang for more than just their name. She sincerely thought that this was the team for Jade.

But even with Selina’s support Jade wasn’t thrilled about the proposition.

All her life she had been trained to be a weapon, only to be rejected and misplaced every time. What difference would a new gang make? Especially a gang full of no-name nobodies.

But at the same time, Jade had turned down too many opportunities before and was almost out of options. She could either stay here in Gotham see how things go with the Wonderland gang, or test her luck somewhere else. And at the moment she was running out of funds and places to try starting fresh.

So for now it seemed like she was going to work with Harriet and her crew.

And while a huge part of her was still filled with doubt, she found herself hoping that Selina had good intuition. Maybe Selina was setting her down the path she was meant to follow. And maybe, the Wonderland gang could be a place where she belonged.

At least for a little while…


	8. Meet the Caterpillar

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my first OC on the Wonderland Gang! 
> 
> Cris is a non-binary teen, currently the youngest member of the Wonderland Gang, is a huge nerd and is thrilled to be here!

Cris Lepidop felt like they were at a crossroad.

So much in their life had changed. Each new step they took brought them further away from the life they use to know, and one step closer to something completely unknown.

It was all so exciting!

Being born and raised in Gotham Cris grew up surrounded by ridiculousness and absurdism. All the sights, and sounds and smells. All crashing one over another like waves that could drown a person. But that was the world Cris was given, and they had no choice. It wasn’t always easy, and it wasn’t always nice, but it was home. It was no wonder now that Cris took major changes in their life in strides. Living in Gotham really taught you to do that.

But it wasn’t all bad. If it wasn’t for Gotham’s weirdness, Cris might have never developed their love of chemistry.

As a kid Cris had always heard on the news how some bad guy had tried to poison the water supplies, or how some criminal had set off some toxic gas. It seemed like there was always some sort of chemical disaster threatening to destroy the people of Gotham. Cris always asked what those strange chemicals were but no one ever gave Cris a satisfying answer. It seemed like nobody actually knew themselves. So they took it upon themself to look it up. They began looking into what exactly these chemicals were, and why they were so dangerous.

And that began Cris’s obsession with chemistry. Turns out everything was both made from, and run by chemistry. The food you ate, the emotions you felt, the drugs you took. Everything! They loved how atoms could bond into these perfect shapes that connect to other molecules, like puzzle pieces. And depending on how the shapes were fit together they could do some amazing and terrible things.

Now Gotham’s rouges, they were the ones making these so called “dangerous chemicals”. Joker’s Laughing Gas, Scarecrow’s Fear Toxin, Bane’s Muscle-Enhancing Venom, even Poison Ivy’s Mind-Controlling Pheromones. People talked about them as if they were some mysterious secret but in truth they were all made from different chemical compounds. Ones that when mixed with the human body led to a whole series of weird chemical reactions.

If anyone asked Cris, they thought that was the coolest thing.

Unfortunately no one ever asked Cris what they thought of the Rouges Gallery.

And if they ever did, they’d probably give Cris a disgusted look. Their family and peers adhered to a strict moral code. People weren’t supposed to like the bad guys. They were bad! And it didn’t matter that most of the rouges were amazing scientists before turning evil. Anything remotely related to the rouges was bad. And if you liked anything to do with the Rouges that meant you were bad too.

So Cris kept their fascination with the Rouges gallery a secret. If anyone found out the real reason they liked chemistry so much, they’d probably get thrown in Arkham.

But try as they might, Cris couldn’t help it. There was something about all those evil Doctor’s and Professor’s that spoke to Cris. So many of their origin stories began as lonely scientists who were always overlooked and always talked down to, and when they finally made a big breakthrough it was torn away from them. It spoke to Cris so much because that’s how they felt their life was already going.

No one ever took them seriously. They always had to hide who they really were. And while they were allowed to love chemistry there was always a limit on how much they could like things before people called them weird. There was always a set limit on who they were allowed to be.

But when Cris saw the Rouges Gallery, they didn’t see a bunch of losers or freaks, they saw a group of people who were free. Free from all the restirctions and expectations society put on people.

And if that was so wrong than maybe Cris Lepidop was a villain too!

In secret, Cris began working on special formula. All their favorite rouges had a signature chemical, a weapon they used to make their mark on the world. And Cris was certain to make their own chemical weapon that would bring Gotham to its knees!

It wouldn’t be deadly, or extremely dangerous. Cris had no plans on killing anyone, they just wanted to cause a scene. For their first big concoction Cris was designing a gas that would make everyone lethargic and weak. Some might argue several drugs already did that but Cris was aiming to create something much more potent and efficient.

And much like all their role models, Cris decided to test their new gas on the unsuspecting people of Gotham. They snuck into a club with a fake ID and defused a low dosage into the air. The reaction was almost immediate. All around them, people began slowing down, dance moves wavering until they were hardly even standing up.

It was certainly funny, but Cris felt it was missing something. Plenty of bad guys used knock-out gas, Cris needed to up the ante a little. Eventually Cris found their signature. Along with slowing down the body, the gas was remodeled to speed up the mind. While stuck in a still body the mind would be awoken with hallucinations. Ones that would chemically stem from the subconscious, making people question what was real and who they really were.

Cris was fed up with living in hiding and limitations. They had set themselves free and it was only fair they return the favor to all those around them.

Each day Cris was changing. Each day they were less like the bored teenager they use to be, and more like someone brand new. This new person was fun, and unpredictable. Sometimes they could even be dangerous. But Cris found that just made them love it even more.

They loved the idea of turning into a Gotham Rouge someday.

And things kept getting better. A woman named Harriet Pratt had talked to them about joining an actual real-life team! It wasn’t one involving Dr. Crane or Dr. Isley but Cris was still thrilled to join them.

They called themselves “the Wonderland Gang” and Cris finally thought of the perfect villain-alias to give themself.

The Caterpillar.

A young rouge who still had a lot of growing to do. But someday soon they would transform into someone amazing.

Someone the city of Gotham couldn’t possibly ignore.


	9. Meet the Dormouse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's my second OC for the team!
> 
> Dora is a shy lady who never asked for any of this to happen, but she's taking it in stride!

Dora Doolittle had an odd relationship with space.

At times she felt like she took up too much of it. And yet, other times she took up so little she was hardly noticed at all.

Being a middle child of six, Dora had always felt that way. Getting attention was like a game. And Dora had been terrible at it. It always seemed like her siblings had more important matters for their parents to focus on. Dora could take care of her problems on her own. It didn’t help that she was always so quiet. And when she did speak her mind it was always the wrong thing to say. Too blunt, to weird or just unnecessary.

Meanwhile no matter where she placed herself she was always in the way. When she was in a hall her siblings would have to squeeze past her. Most of the time her family had grown use to just pushing and nudging her out of their way. It always made her feel like she must be so big. To always be such an obstacle for the rest of her family. She thought she must be ginormous.

She felt like she was always fighting in extremes. Never finding a happy medium. Never comfortable in her own skin.

Despite being quieter than a mouse, Dora somehow managed to be the problem child of her family. She didn’t look the right part or say the correct things. And it seemed like she always had the worst luck, stumbling into problems like they were cracks on a sidewalk.

And unfortunately, it seemed like her awkwardness and bad luck were following her into adulthood as well.

She still managed to always be in the way. And was always in the wrong place at the wrong time…

That’s how she ended up with these strange powers.

It all started when she got a job as a custodian in this weird laboratory. They specialized in engineering and physics, finding new ways to apply both sciences. She’d work the night shift, make sure everything was nice and clean, and be out before sunrise. Sometimes the experiments they ran in there were strange but Dora never asked questions. She just kept her head low and did her job. She never intended to get in trouble.

But then the lab was given an odd commission, one that was never mentioned of the laboratory’s calendar or press releases. An anonymous donor was willing to fund the lab’s work for 40 years, if, and only if, they could construct a machine capable of changing an object’s size. A shrink ray.

It sounded like science-fiction but the scientists in that lab were working as if their lives depended on it. One night, Dora couldn’t help herself and asked one of the scientists working late what was so special about a shrink ray?

The scientist had been so insulted they had to yell their answer at Dora. Through all the screaming and degrading comments about her intelligence Dora was able to make out what the scientist was trying to say. Apparently if you grow and shrink something rapidly you’ll be able to produce a large amount of energy and that could act as a replacement for gas or nuclear power. Being so embarrassed, Dora decided to just leave it at that and continued to do her work without any other questions.

If she was confused, or curious about anything, she just kept it to herself.

In hindsight that wasn’t the greatest idea.

After all, what you don’t know _can_ hurt you…

After some long, tedious months-turned-years of non-stop work, it seemed like the scientists had finally made a break through. The shrinking ray had produced a tremendous amount of energy, enough to temporarily black out the building. But sure enough once all the lights came back on there was the rocking chair, it still had the same exact amount of wood fibers, it was just all those wood fibers, and the entire chair were now significantly smaller. The scientists were ecstatic.

The only problem came when it was time to return the chair to its former size…

Instead of growing it just burst into flames.

Dora didn’t know all the science of it but from what she understood to shrink released energy. And if you were going to do the reverse then you probably needed to produce some energy of your own. And for an inanimate chair there was only one was to make that much energy quickly…

Honestly, Dora had to admit she should have seen what was coming next. With the scientists desperate for more success, getting sloppy with protocol, and Dora being anywhere close to something so fragile, it was only logical that Dora would do what Dora did best.

She got in the way.

Dora had been so busy staying quiet, keeping her head down. The scientists hadn’t even realized she was still in the room when they shut everything down and fired off their shrink ray again.

One moment she was sweeping up ash, the next moment there was screaming and a blinding blue light…

And when she came to, she couldn’t help but noticed the room looked much larger than it had before.

When she struggled to get up, her broom was dwarfing her.

It was then she realized just how badly she messed up.

The shrink ray had had its second big success. Shrinking a living specimen.

And it only got worse from there.

Not only had Dora never signed any waivers or forms, and could easily sue the labs for malpractice and endangerment, but this was for an experiment nobody was even supposed to know about. If news of their shrinking technology got out, they were all done for.

So while Dora ran towards the scientists, crying for someone to help her. The scientists used the reverse ray on her, hoping it would destroy her the same way it had destroyed the chair.

However, humans have many more ways to producing energy than just bursting into flames.

Dora found herself, starving, out of breath, and brought back to her original size. But something felt wrong. Even if she didn’t realize it then, something within her genes had been fundamentally changed…

Running like her life depended on it, she managed to escape from the lab. Weaving through all the backrooms and corridors she’d come to know so well as a custodian. Never had Dora ever been so scared in her life.

But just her luck, while alone on the streets of Gotham, she ran into the one woman willing to hear her story and help her out…


	10. Meet the Mock Turtle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's my final OC for this team!
> 
> Louie is a grumpy old retiree looking to do something fun lol!
> 
> Thank you for reading all of these! And I hope you enjoyed getting a look at this odd little team of Gotham Rouges!

Louie Coral was the glue.

From outside appearances, he wasn’t seen as an active member of the gang. His efforts were invisible.

But he was the one who really brought and kept the Wonderland Gang together.

Not in a sweet way, mind you, he was no “heart”. He’d prefer to be considered the “nervous system”. He stored the information, he relayed the messages, kept everyone in the-know. Kept them all alive and aware. He was the one maintaining order and stability.

Harriet was the one with the original idea. She could be a great persuader, but when it came to being a leader she was still figuring all that out. Until she really had her footing though Louie was happy to step in and boss everyone around.

It was certainly more fun than joining another stupid book club or playing bingo.

Louie had been retired for several years now, and it all made him bored as hell. He use to work at the same office as Harriet, way back when she was an intern running coffee. He’d helped give her advice on how to stand out in the office and how to work her way up if she wanted.

But based on the girl’s current ambitions it was clear she wanted to do more than just spend years slowly crawling up a corporate ladder.

And that was fine by Louie. In truth he’d hardly been a man on the straight and narrow himself.

As a young man, he’d dabbled in the affairs of mobs and gangs.

He didn’t really have much of a choice back then.

When he was young he’d been a dancer. Trained in ballet and modern. Louie was the prized dancer of his studio. Unfortunately the studio he was with fell on hard times. Modern dance wasn’t bringing in the big audiences the way it used to. So in a last-ditch effort to keep from going bankrupt the studio took out a few loans. Loans they ended up not being able to pay back… And never wanting to be undermined, the mob decided to take away the studio’s most valuable asset…

Louie could still recall they day the mob went after him. It was burned into his mind. He was leaving class when a van sped by. It was meant to be a hit and run. And originally it was intended to take his life, but in the end it only crippled him. After that accident he could never walk far without a cane.

And he’d never be able to dance again…

It wasn’t long after that Louie found out exactly _why_ he was hurt. Why he was chosen specifically. And from that moment on, he made a vow to do everything he could to destroy the people who destroyed his life.

Revenge was a funny thing. When it starts it feel so powerful and hot, you’d think it could never burn out.

But as the years came and went, busting kneecaps, breaking fingers, collecting blackmail on all of Gotham’s biggest and baddest, as Louie’s reputation grew more and more something began to change. After Louie managed to track down every son of a bitch who ruined his life, he gave them all that pain back in tenfold, and yet it never felt as satisfying as he'd dreamed. After a while Louie began to lose that constant need for vengeance.

That fire that’d kept him going for so long began to sputter out and fade, until all he was left with was a bunch of cooling embers and a lack of self-identity.

If he wasn’t doing these things for revenge, then why was he still hurting people?

He couldn’t be a dancer. That dream died a long time ago. But he couldn’t keep going on like this, not when there was nothing left to fight for. And Louie knew one day when he wasn’t careful this kind of life would eat him alive.

So he tried to clean up his act. Got a day-job, and stuck to it. He found an office that didn’t have great back-ground checks, faked a few papers and began working under a new identity.

For years he’d tried to persuade himself that he was content. Why put his life at risk when he didn’t need to? It was better to be safe in a steady job. And the only time he even made enemies was when some fellas were competing for a promotion. He was ok. This life was ok.

He spent so many years telling himself that same thing, over and over, he really began to believe it.

But once again, when it came time for him to retire, he faced yet another identity crisis.

He put so much of himself into his work, now that he didn’t need to work who was he?

He was still trying to figure that all out, but for now Louie decided he must be an advisor. He was the bossman who gave Harriet all the tips and tricks she’d need to make a real reputation here in Gotham, and he’d keep all her weirdo recruits in line.

They all had this obsession with Alice in Wonderland. When they heard his name they thought he should make a new alias for himself. Harriet thought it’d be funny to call him “Lewis Carroll”. Since he was like an author using his characters to plan out a story. But Louie didn’t really like that.

He preferred to call himself “The Mock Turtle”, he felt that was far more fitting. He wasn’t what he appeared to be. Masquerading under different faces and identities until he didn’t even know what he was supposed to be. And always mourning the way things used to be.

Never being able to forget the joy dancing gave him.

Though, the rest of the team didn’t need to know how symbolic his alias really was. For all they knew it was just a random character he chose. Not even Harriet knew why the name meant so much to him.

The only one who had any clue was Jaina, that girl had such a gift with dance. Louie adored getting to talk with her about her training with the Gotham Ballet, as well as her training in Bollywood. It was always nice getting to chat with a fellow dancer.

And while Louie wasn’t the nicest, he had to admit the other Wonderlanders weren’t so weird after he got to know them a little better. They could be a real fun bunch when you got them all wound up. Louie learned to see all their strengths and talents. Learning the real reasons why Harriet had chosen such a random array of people.

They had potential, Louie could admit that. But they had long way to go until they could be considered a serious gang in Gotham.

But Louie was a patient man, and was willing to help them all get there.


End file.
